Swedish additives group Polygiene (Malmö; www.polygiene.com) has bought Addmaster (Stafford / UK; www.addmaster.co.uk), a 20-year-old additives specialist in the UK founded by managing director Paul Morris. The pair said the deal, which was announced in the second week of January, would allow both companies to offer a wide range of antimicrobial functions, with Polygiene supplying textiles while Addmaster’s “Biomaster” brand contributes solutions for polymers, paints, coatings and paper. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Welcoming the deal, Ulrika Björk, Polygiene’s chief executive, said the worldwide market for the firm’s products was “vast”, and was expected to grow from USD 5 bn (EUR 4 bn) to USD 10 bn (EUR 8 bn) over the next five years. Polygiene was established in 2004, and in 2019 reported a turnover of SEK 69m (EUR 6.8m) and an operating profit of SEK 6.6m (EUR 655,000).